**HEALTH / FITNESS & NUTRITION ** | January 3, 2008
**Personal Best: But First, Doctor, What Was Your Marathon Time? **
By GINA KOLATA
Are athletes a special group? And, if so, do they fare any differently if they see doctors who are athletes?
…not sure if I pasted it correctly… but it looks okay on preview. Article in today’s NY Times (online edition). Read, discuss if anyone wants… I gotta go to work now
Good article. The chiropractor that I go to is a long distance swimmer and has done tri’s, same with the massage therapist I see. The orthopedic surgeon who did my collarbone surgery is a cyclist (I didn’t know that until after I had been referred to him), so in those instances each person has been able to know how to treat any issues in order to allow me to continue working out.
I think athletes gravitate towards athletic doctors because they typically understand another athlete’s needs/desires- to return to competition. Many people seem to be after a cessation of pain or a “good enough” fix. To many, being told to not run, or any other activity, is no big deal. To an athlete, it could be crushing. The real trick is to find a doctor who will listen to the patient, and will help them get what they want/need. If that can never happen, the doc needs to be upfront w/ that too.
I had knee surgery a little over 3 years ago. All I wanted was a knee that worked properly again so I could run and ride. As soon as the doc said he could do that, I was fine with whatever needed done. I’d have gone through a lot more pain/recovery to get to 100% vs. 80%. Then again, this was done when I was 27. My 65 y/o father is not willing to undergo surgery that may or may not help his arthritis- he just deals w/ it and stays within his limitations, and understands that there will always be some discomfort.
From personal experience I would have to agree… my family doctor and the surgeon that did both my shoulders are active athletes. For me it’s made a difference.
Good article.
I practice sports medicine, with a big emphasis on endurance athletes, in particular triathletes and runners. They seem to really like the fact that I’m an athlete, and a coach, and a sports specialist.
However, I’d say that actually being an athlete isn’t all that important. Being qualified in sports medicine, however, is.
Phil
Haha… Interesting, in Lake Placid its kinda hard to find a Dr. who’s not an athlete of some sort, many of which being triathletes.
Totally agree with you Phil. I’ve had 4 orthopedic surgeries and the one performed by a doctor who also happened to be a college football player was the one I had least confidence in. The other 2 doctors really understood sports medicine, the mentality of an athlete and knew how to handle my special needs.
As a type 1 diabetic the search for an endo who had the ability to deal with atheltes has been way more complicated though. Since this requires a combination of sports medicine, internal medicine and metabolic understanding. After 6 months of floudnering with a highly respected pediatric diabetic center I finally gave up and searched high and low to create a team that would fit my needs. I’ve since moved onto a sports nutritionist to handle the metabolic side and her rec. of an endo for the itnernal medicine/ health side; the combination of the 2 creates the in depth understanding of an athletes needs required for a succesful relationship.
What it really comes down to is a doctor who understands athletes will realize that an athlete is different than the majority of the population in pain threshold, goals and their definition of “health”.